Children and their parents resemble each other in terms of economic preferences such as patience and risk tolerance. What drives the intergenerational correlation in preferences? We build a model of preference formation that combines genetic transmission, state influence through childcare...

Standard models of the family assume that spouses share information. In this paper, we challenge this assumption with theory and evidence. We field a new survey module in the Dutch LISS panel where spouses independently report their knowledge of each other's finances. Private information is...

Over the past two decades, there have been significant changes in family dynamics and labor market interactions, with shifts in fertility, marriage, divorce, cohabitation, family labor supply, gender inequality, and childrearing. This chapter examines the impact of government policies on these...

Over the past two decades, there have been significant changes in family dynamics and labor market interactions, with shifts in fertility, marriage, divorce, cohabitation, family labor supply, gender inequality, and childrearing. This chapter examines the impact of government policies on these...

This paper examines how personality shapes intra-household bargaining, marital stability, and the allocation of resources within marriages. We use rich data from the HILDA Survey that combines information on spouses' personalities, wages, time use, and marital histories. In the data, personality...

Dynamic household bargaining models are growing in popularity but are computationally demanding to solve and estimate. We propose a modification to the endogenous grid method (EGM) that allows this class of models to reap the benefits of the EGM. The method, which we refer to as interpolated EGM...

We study the role of gender role attitudes (GRA)—beliefs about appropriate roles for men and women—in marital sorting and intra-household allocations. Using the UK Household Longitudinal Study and a multidimensional matching model, we estimate the contribution of GRA to the joint marriage...

We study the role of Gender Role Attitudes (GRA) - beliefs about appropriate roles for men and women - in marital sorting and intra-household allocations. Using the UK Household Longitudinal Study and a multidimensional matching model following Dupuy and Galichon (2014), we estimate the...

Reconciliation of work and family roles has become a central issue for advancing women’s empowerment, gender equality, and sustainable family systems worldwide. While the previous research has examined the ‘work–family interface’, multi-country evidence on the link between gender...

Partners often match on similar characteristics, such as demographics and wages, contributing to inequality between households. We study whether non-wage job amenities - an important part of compensation in the labor market that may also affect household production - play a role in marriage...

This paper studies how family structure shapes consumption inequality and poverty in the USA. Using PSID data and a collective household model, we estimate sharing rules for married and cohabitating couples and recover individual-level consumption. In the full sample, cohabitating couples appear...

This paper explores the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the recent rapid decline in marriage rates in China and South Korea, using nationally representative longitudinal data. The analysis shows that recently rising never-married rates (NVMR) are increasingly concentrated...

Partners often match on similar characteristics, such as demographics and wages, contributing to inequality between households. We study whether non-wage job amenities - an important part of compensation in the labor market that may also affect household production - play a role in marriage...

Research has documented gender inequalities in parental financial gifts, but it is unclear under which conditions these inequalities are socially accepted. We combine distributive justice theory with sociological and economic perspectives on intergenerational transfers to examine perceptions of...

Studies have investigated the equalizing effect of childcare provision and parental leave schemes on gendered work patterns. However, as the relationship between policies and individual time allocations to paid work is complex and challenging to empirically assess, previous research has...

This work examines the effect of next-generation broadband on marriage rates among opposite- and same-sex couples in Spain. Given that the decision to sustain a relationship and enter into marriage is influenced by a broad spectrum of opportunities, high-speed broadband access can play a pivotal...

This paper studies how family and firm investments interact to explain gender gaps in career achievement. Using Danish administrative data, we first document novel evidence of this interaction through a “spousal effect” on firm-side career investments. This effect is accounted for by family...

I investigate the intra-household labor and resource allocation consequences of an employment guarantee targeting rural households in India. The guarantee insures household earnings, replacing women as added workers and shutting down a motive for saving. Despite sizable program-job take-up, the...

Families play an important role in providing insurance against adverse shocks, but little is known about how shocks affect the family structure itself. We study the impact of a labor market shock on divorce and intra-household allocation of resources, exploiting a naturalexperimental earthquake...

Since 1972, the General Social Survey has periodically asked whether people are happy with Yes, Maybe or No type answers. Here I use a net "happiness" measure, which is percentage Yes less percentage No with Maybe treated as zero. Average happiness is around +20 on this scale for all respondents...

An often neglected implication of couple taxation is its impact on marital sorting. A tractable model of such an impact is offered in this paper. It reveals that, as compared to joint taxation with income splitting, individual taxation makes higher-ability individuals more picky in the marriage...

This paper studies how family and firm investments interact to explain gender gaps in career achievement. Using Danish administrative data, we first document novel evidence of this interaction through a "spousal effect" on firm-side career investments. This effect is accounted for by family...

In sub-Saharan Africa, the gap in fertility preferences between men and women may influence household fertility outcomes as men usually desire more children and have more intra-household bargaining power. We estimate the effect of an informational family planning program that randomizes the...

Immigrant households frequently face liquidity constraints upon arrival, which potentially hinders their long-term economic integration. The Family Investment Hypothesis (FIH) suggests that couples may respond to these constraints by coordinating their labor supply: one spouse works to finance...